Effective Project Management: Traditional, Agile, Extreme - Assignment Example

Network Diagram

• • Solutions
• Earliest Start (ES) – 5 marks

The earliest start for the project beginning is considered to be at 0. For all the subsequent stages, the earliest start is usually a total of the start of the previous phase, duration of the previous phase, plus one.

ES (A) = 0

ES (B) = 3+1= 4

ES (C) = 4+4+1= 9

ES (D) = 4+4+1= 9

ES (E) = 4+4+1= 9

ES (F) = 4+4+1= 9

ES (G) = 9+4+1 = 14 from C

ES (G) = 9+1+1 = 11 from D

ES (G) = 9+1+1 = 11 from E

ES (G) = 9+3+1 = 13 from F

ES (H) = 9+1+1 = 11 from E

ES (H) = 9+3+1 = 13 from F

ES (I) = 11+2+1 = 14 from G

ES (I) = 11+1+1 = 13 from H

ES (J) = 13+2+1 = 16

• Earliest Finish (EF) – 5 marks

The earliest finish depicts the earliest start for each phase, added to the duration of the phase. Like the earliest start, this is computed using forward pass analysis.

EF (A) = 0+3 = 3

EF (B) = 4+4 = 8

EF (C) = 9+4 = 13

EF (D) = 9 + 1 = 10

EF (E) = 9+1 = 10

EF (F) = 9 + 3= 12

EF (G) = 14+2 = 16 from C

EF (G) = 11+2 = 13 from D

EF (G) = 11+2 = 13 from E

EF (G) = 13+2 = 15 from F

EF (H) = 11+1= 12 from E

EF (H) = 13+1= 14 from F

EF (I) = 14+2=16 from G

EF (I) = 13+2= 15 from H

EF (J) = 16+1 = 17

• Latest Start (LS) – 5 marks

The project in question has a given deadline. Therefore, the computation of the latest start cannot be under the assumption that it is equal to the earliest start. Instead, the deadline is perceived as the latest start to the completion of all the phases, and backward passing used to project the rest of the phases.

LS (J) = 15

LS (I) = 15-2 = 13

LS (H) = 13-1 = 12

LS (G) = 13-2 = 11

LS (F) = 11-3 = 8

LS (E) = 11-1 =10

LS (F) = 12-3 = 9

LS (E) = 12-1 =11

LS (D) = 11-1 =10

LS (C) = 11-4 = 7

LS (B) = 7-4 = 3

LS (B) = 11-4 = 7

LS (B) = 9-4 = 5

LS (B) = 10-4 = 6

LS (A) = 3-3 = 0

• Latest Finish (LF) – 5 marks

LF J = 17

LF (I) = 15

LF (H) = 13

LF (G) = 13

LF (F) = 11

LF (E) = 11

LF (D) = 11

LF (C) = 11

LF (B) = 7

LF (A) = 3

• Slack/Float on each activities – 07 marks

The slack of each of the activities depicts the amount of delay time that the phase can undergo without impacting the same delay on the rest of the project. It is expected that the critical points be rigidly scheduled, implying that they will have minimal slack

Activity

LS-ES

Slack

A

0-0

0

B

7-4

3

C

7-8

1

D

10-9

2

E

11-9

3

F

9-9

0

G

11-11

0

H

12-13

-1

I

13-14

-1

J

15-16

-1

• Critical Path for the project

Critical path involves all the critical points

A>>F>>G>>I>>J

Do you expect to receive a bonus or penalty on this project?

From this project, it is anticipated that there will be a penalty. This is because all the times exceed the given deadline. The working clause indicates a penalty of $100 for every day after 15 working days. According to the critical path, and all the other possible paths, it will require at least 16 days completing. The implication is that the project will incur a penalty of at least $ 100, assuming that the latest finishing day will be the same as the earliest starting day.

• • Assume that there is a delay of 3 days in completing activity F. Critically evaluate different possible actions that the Project Manager could take to avoid exceeding the current length of the critical path

The critical path represents a sequence of actions that determine the minimum time required for an operation within the given time. It is the longest sequence of events that must be achieved on time in order for project completion on a specific date . In this critical path, F is a critical activity and thus a delay in this phase would delay completion of the entire process. Further, project costs are likely to increase and thus impose the possibility of further consequences, like penalties, on the project team. Consequently, it becomes critical that the project manager takes deliberate steps in order to avoid exceeding the current length of time. The delay in phase F for three days will delay the entire path by three days. If F was not part of the critical path, this would not be a problem as delays in the other phases will not influence the completion of the entire project.

However, there are alternatives to adopt that can overcome the outcomes of the delay. These are approaches to either saving time, or to avoiding implementation of the phase causing the delay. For instance, the project could devote more resources to the completion of phases before or after the delay. More labor hours could be used for the next phases, or use additional finances in order to ensure successfully completing the phases in less than the previously allocated time. With this approach, the delay incurred in F can be recovered in the consequent phases. In the same manner, the project manager may opt to devote more resources to the stages preceding F. By the time the project reaches F, they will have recovered some hours and probably have three to spare and cover the delay.

The project manager could pursue alternate paths that do not require the inclusion of F. Instead of step F, the project could feature E. However, the critical path already identifies F as a critical stage. Adopting E against F could affect the outcomes of the project and cause problems meeting the objectives that are defined. Notably, the critical path does not include step B, which has float of about 3 days, the delay time. The plan could be modified to feature B, enabling taking advantage of the slack for this phase. If B is executed without using this float, it could be converted to be used in other phases of the program such as in F and thus cover the delay.

As such, the action taken by the project manager features adjusting the resources and taking advantage of any existent float. The critical phases are rigidly scheduled, giving them little variability in execution time. However, reviewing some of the phases and resource distribution will create some slack in other phases of the project. While there are already some hours with negative float, there are activities that could present more time than they actually require. The float will be useful in recovering the hours that are lost in the stage where the delay took place, while not requiring re-arranging resources.

2. Critically evaluate five factors that can make your project a success

Wagner and Zaval (2009) elaborate the existence of a variety of factors that influence the chances of success of a project. The achievement of project success is measured by the ability to meet given goals and achieve them within the given time. Despite efforts by many project managers, some projects often end up impaired or challenged, implying either no achievement or achievements beneath the anticipated outcomes. The situation has compelled incessant research into project failure, enabling definition of the factors that could improve the success of a project. From this perspective, the factors often vary and are specific to the project in question.

One of the factors to promote the success of this project is the inclusion of adequate planning. Proper planning assigns responsibilities and accountability to specific people within the project team. It also designates resources to particular phases of the project. The choice of resources and personalities is accorded according to the goals that the team anticipates at every phase, and at the end of the complete project. Risk management activities also feature in this planning phase, anticipating the possible occurrence of risk and mitigating the effects in case of its event. Planning, therefore, not only enables resource allocation and the plotting of milestones, but it also enables the mitigation of risk. As such, in this project, it could be possible to anticipate the delay at level F and make plans for the recovery from this delay, thus mitigating the negative effects.

Another factor for promotion of project success is the composition and setting of reasonable goals. All the stakeholders for the project should agree on the goals, including the sponsors, the managers, and all the members in the project team. Clear goals enable specification of the scope of the project, and determination of the availability and applicability of resources. The goals for the project also require being reasonable. For instance, in this project, the manager could design completion of the construction in more days instead of promising achievement within the current deadline. It is pointless to set goals that will strain resources and impart heavy pressure on the members of the team. In fact, unreasonable goals are likely to cause chaos in the execution of tasks and division of the resources, further delaying the completion of the project in question.

Schedule control is also integral to achieving project success. Schedule control implies the continuous measurement of the allocated milestones, schedules, and distribution of resources. This approach means that the project manager will detect hints that the initial planning is not working as anticipated. In this project, the manager detects the delay in phase F early enough to take cautionary measures against the failure of the given critical path. Thus, the schedule will be adjusted to allow better drafting of the phases and changes in resource and time allocation. The final outcome, therefore, will be more acceptable as scheduling will overcome the issues coming from the delay.

Communication is vital to the success of a project. Before the onset of the project, it would be important to define the communication channels that would best suit this team and project. Different channels are necessary depending on the roles that each stakeholder adopts. Issues like status reports are crucial for management, while the clients may require progress reviews. Communication also involves the briefings to staff, allowing for their behaviour to morph and cope with any changes in project execution. With this project, communication in the team will play a critical role towards its successful execution especially after the delay. The staff can communicate any performance issues to the manager efficiently. It will enable the rescheduling of activities and resources, as well as the involvement of the team in the new approach to completion of the project.

The choice of personnel would be integral to ensuring the success of this project. Qualified personnel on the project team limit the amount of training that is necessary in order to achieve efficiency. In fact, it is recommended that project team members undergo triage before embarking on the actual project. These features will limit the possibility of errors, and the possibility that the delay in stage F was caused by incompetence can be eliminated. The efficient team also offers more comprehensive feedback, which will enable other approaches such as rescheduling to overcome hindrances encountered with the initial plan.